This invention relates generally to intravenous administration systems and, more particularly, to systems for the administration of plural liquid medications which may have physio-chemical imcompatibilities.
The intravenous administration of medical liquids to patients is well known. Such liquids are frequently administered from a bottle which is supported in an inverted position over the patient, through a flexible delivery tube connected to the inverted bottle opening, a suitable valve mechanism, such as a manually adjustable clamp, being provided in the flexible tube system, the medical liquid flowing into the patient's vein through a venous needle. This apparatus is generally referred to as an "administration set". Medical liquids administered through such sets include normal saline, electrolytes, sugar, various pharmaceuticals, various nutritional materials, and the like.
Although great advances have been made in the development of medications and fluids to be administered intravenously to patients, a serious problem exists in such administration in that it frequently happens that two or more of such medical liquids which are to be desirably administered to a particular patient at the same time are incompatible with each other. More particularly, although such liquids may be incompatible in various respects, e.g., neutralization, antioxidants, supersaturation, etc., a serious incompatibility, and one with which the present invention is concerned, is the precipitation of small solids resulting from the mixing of two or more medical liquid. Those precipitates, if infused into the patient's vein, may have serious deleterious effects.
Precipitation resulting from mixing two incompatible medical liquids is usually difficult to detect since the reaction is kinetically slow in developing and, even after such development, it is difficult to observe since the resulting precipitate comprises particles extremely small in size. Accordingly, plural medical liquids are usually administered either using separate needles, tubing and venipuncture for each liquid or is accomplished sequentially. While the latter consumes an inordinate amount of time, the former is extremely awkward, especially when three or four such liquids are to be administered.
Thus, it would be desirable to administer the plural medical liquids simultaneously in a manner such that should any precipitation occur during the mixing of the liquids, such would be readily and immediately apparent so that corrective measures could be taken before the patient is endangered.